My first impression of Arms and the Covenant, the debut release from British Metal act, Collapse,
is one of excitement as this is seriously good album. It follows their EP, 'Scar the Silence' and they
certainly don’t take any prisoners. .

Their sound is a mix of traditional European melodic and U.S thrash
groove metal, with their own unique twist added to the mix. The result is absolutely killer with
fast brutal riffs, massive grooves, killer drum work and excellent, vicious, grab you by the throat and
shake the life out of you vocals. There is a slight feeling of familiarity to the sound, which I find a tiny
bit unnerving, but at the same time really like it because it is done so well.

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The moment the opening track 'Arms and the Covenant' begins, fast vicious drumming
and a catchy riff overwhelm you with excitement and intensity so hold on tight
because you have thirty seven minutes of this to get through.

Building in intensity and speed as it opens, and switching between catchy head banging riffs and
brutal fury 'The Cursed' continues the excitement. The distant sounding opener is like a forewarning
for the ensuing brutality that is to follow in 'The Death of Man'.

'Resurrecting God' is a slow,
sinister, guitar lead instrumental that leads you straight into 'Acolyte', the first twenty seconds of
which is an absolute face ripping riff-fest that blossoms into a fast catchy track. 'Bloodlet' has a military
style drum beat opener with a slower tempo; stuffed full of catchy riffs and a bit groove going on, I
love it.

The dark sinister chugging riffs, powerful vocal roars and spoken element on 'Follow' combine
to make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end.

The mix of a catchy groove and powerful drum work on 'Of Iron' make yet another exciting track.
I particularly loved the vocal layering on the chorus. For 'Attrition' the pace goes all the way up to maximum again.

It is always a brave, and often an ill judged move to do a cover track, particularly
one as high profiled as Carcass’s 'Heartwork'. Collapse have not only pulled it off they have done
such an amazing job I might even just prefer this version, if I dare say that.

Arms and the Covenant is an awesome album which is quite an achievement given that the band have only
been together for four years. Collapse are destined to make a massive impact on the British metal
scene. As a debut album I can’t fault it, it ticks all the boxes, with material like this, their future is
looking bright. I recommend giving this a listen.